


Unchained

by clv44



Series: Tales from the Wildemount Frontier [3]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Western, Angst, Branding, Caleb Widogast Needs a Hug, Childhood Trauma, Cowboys & Cowgirls, Emotional Hurt, Gen, Period-Typical Racism, Slavery, Trent Ikithon Being an Asshole, Warning: Trent Ikithon, Western
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-01
Updated: 2020-02-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:16:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22429225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clv44/pseuds/clv44
Summary: Caleb and Nott met by chance on their adventures. Nott is running to her family. Caleb is running away from his.
Relationships: Astrid/Caleb Widogast, Delilah Briarwood/Sylas Briarwood, Nott & Caleb Widogast, Taryon Darrington & Percival "Percy" Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III, Vax'ildan & Vex'ahlia (Critical Role)
Series: Tales from the Wildemount Frontier [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1612876
Kudos: 22





	Unchained

**Author's Note:**

> Before chapter 1, you should definitely read the first chapter of "We Come In Pairs," another story in this series. Caleb and Nott had an earlier confrontation with Vex and Vax that leads into this one.

Caleb walked out of the saloon dejected. The person who called themselves Bryce came out behind him, wearing a wooden mask over their features. The design was monstrous, a face grotesquely morphed into a hideous smile. It looked as though it had been hand-carved.

"I'm sorry I couldn't do more," said Bryce. Their voice was cracked and rasping. It could've been either male or female, Caleb couldn't tell.

"It's fine," he replied, even though it wasn't. He gave Bryce what little money he had left in his pocket and walked away. The night wind swept across his face as he walked back to his horse. After the heat of the bar it was a welcome relief and Caleb allowed himself a moment to take comfort in it.

"Anything?" Nott asked, slipping from out of the shadows. She had been hiding between the sheriff's office and the general store. Even though Caleb had known she was there he hadn't seen her; he supposed it was her dark, Negro skin that let her blend in with the night.

"Nein," Caleb replied with a heavy sigh. "There was a slave revolt and all paperwork was burned along with the house. A dead end." Nott's face fell; they had been following this paper trail for months and she had been growing more excited with each new clue they found. To have it end so abruptly, their goal snatched away from them, seemed to have crushed her. Caleb laid a hand on her shoulder.

"We'll keep looking," he promised. "We won't let this stop us. Remember, we had other dead-ends before now. We'll find another way." Nott nodded, taking a deep breath. Caleb knew she was trying to put on a strong face for him.

"Okay," she said, swinging into her saddle and almost falling off the other side. She wasn't a very good rider, having never been trained, but Caleb was doing the best he could on their journey. Still, she was clumsy on them and the horses could feel her fear. They were often fidgety when she was around. Caleb climbed on his donkey, an old brown jack he'd had for years, and took a hold of the reins on Nott's pony. He clicked his teeth and they started out of the town.

Though Caleb had promised Nott that they would find her family, and he intended to keep that promise, he had no idea where to start next. It had taken them almost half a year to find any trace of her family; it seemed that they were being sent to every plantation from here to Georgia. They had followed the paper trail to Alfield, where Bryce had promised information about the plantation they worked at. That was before the slaves had revolted and set the entire mansion ablaze, destroying anything that might have helped them. Caleb supposed they would have to start visiting slave auctions in the area now, in case they came across them being sold by chance.

The sound of galloping hooves broke into Caleb's thoughts and an arrow landed in front of his donkey. If the jack had not been so old, he probably would've bucked. Nott's pony bucked freely and she scrambled to hold the reins.

"Stop!" she cried. The horse jerked backwards, bucking its head and making gruff, agitated sounds. "Stop, please, dammit! Caleb, help!"

"Sorry," said a voice from the shadows. "We're only here to make it worse."

A man dressed in black stepped out between two buildings, a silver snake's head shining from his neck in the moonlight. A raven perched on his shoulder, staring at Caleb with eyes too intelligent for any bird.

"Worse!" it cried, in a perfect imitation of its master's voice. "Worse!"

Caleb sat frozen in disbelief. It was the Indian man who had tried to rob their camp. And if he was here, it was likely his sister wasn't far behind.

A big, grey wolf leapt out from behind them and Caleb had to reach quickly for the pony's reins before it carried Nott away in a frightened gallop. The horses were thoroughly spooked, now, turning in place, wanting to run, and neighing shrilly. A woman, the dark man's sister, joined her wolf while her brother and his raven covered their front.

"We've got a score to settle," said the woman, keeping her bow drawn on the pair of them as her brother confidently approached. "You're gonna get your due for that little bit of embarrassment you dealt us a couple months ago."

The man began purging them of their weapons, taking Nott's pistols from her saddle holsters and sliding Caleb's shotgun from its sleeve. _At least they didn't find the dynamite,_ Caleb thought, relieved.

"And how are you going to do that?" he asked, eying the raven which hadn't taken its eyes off him.

"We were thinkin' of tying your asses to your horse and then havin' it drag you while we watch," the man replied. "We thought that sounded pretty fuckin' good."

"That's hardly fair," Caleb pointed out, slowly tucking his hand up his sleeve to grab the small stick of dynamite in a sleeve pocket. "All we did was take some of your money."

"That's the thing about revenge, darlin'," said the woman. "It's never fair."

The man pulled a coil of rope from his saddlebag and stalked towards Nott and Caleb with a devilish grin on his face. Caleb decided that it was about time to end this.

He gave a loud whistle and suddenly an orange blur of fur and claws bounded out from behind a water barrel. The cat leapt onto the man and scrambled up his body, swatting at the raven perched at his shoulder. The raven screamed and took off, leaving behind a flurry of black feathers. The wolf barked and ran at the cat, knocking over the man as the three of them wrestled in a pile of fur and snapping jaws.

Caleb grinned and pulled out the small dynamite stick. He struck a match and turned to face the woman, who went pale at the sight of the lit match and the small red stick.

"Let us go," Caleb warned, "and I won't have to light this." This was too easy, he thought. How had they managed to pull the rug out from under these people twice?

A large black wing slapped his head. Talons scratched his hand. A second later the dynamite was gone, ripped from his fingers. He whipped around to see the raven flying away, the small red stick clutched in its claws.

"Good try, darlin." The woman grinned. "Vax? Do ya need help?"

Caleb looked over his shoulder. Vax had managed to shove the wolf off himself and was now trying to pry the cat off his face. "I'll let ya know in a few seconds."

With an angry meow the cat jumped to the ground, leaving red scratches on Vax's face. The wolf barked again and chased the cat back into the shadows. The sounds of barking, howling and meowing faded into the distance.

"Now," Vax said, straightening his jacket and picking up the dropped rope. "Where were we?"

* * *

Caleb had had better days, he decided as Vax tightened the rope around his wrists. He'd had days that were a lot worse, for a fact, but he decided that this was definitely up there with some of his less pleasant experiences.

"You're gonna let us go at some point, right?" Nott asked nervously. Caleb could only imagine how this felt for her, being tied up by her wrists, unable to move. It must be horribly familiar.

"Of course," Vex replied, still atop her horse. "Once we feel that the friction has removed an appropriate amount of skin, then we'll untie you. Promise." Nott gulped.

Caleb tried to think of a way out. He could try for his matches, but they were tuck up his sleeve and with amount of rope around his wrists he couldn't reach in to grab them. The siblings had taken their guns and knives, so there wasn't any way to cut themselves out. Caleb sighed; it looked like they were just going to have to take it.

"There," declared Vax, giving the rope around Caleb one last tug. "That oughta do the trick." He checked the other end of the rope, which was tied to the saddle of Nott's pony. "Now," he continued, climbing on his own horse and taking out a single silver pistol, "you wanna do it, Vex, or should I? I mean, they broke your bow."

Vex stroked her chin. Then grinned. "Ya know? I think I will." Vax smirked and flipped the gun to offer the grip to his sister. She seemed clumsy with it, Caleb thought, as if she'd barely ever handled a gun before. Vax leaned over and helped her pull back the hammer and Caleb winced as the barrel, just for a second, aimed straight in their direction.

"Y'all ready?" Vex asked devilishly, aiming the pistol at the sky. Caleb didn't bother answering, but Nott shook her head vigorously.

"Look," she pleaded, "we can give you back the money we stole! We got more than last time!" A lie. "We can can make you another bow!" Another lie. Besides, it looked like Vex had already made herself a new one.

The gunshot split the night and the pony immediately charged into a gallop. Caleb thought his arms would pop out of their sockets as he and Nott were jerked forward. They fell on their faces, dragging across the rough ground. Sand flew into their eyes and mouths and rocks scraped their cheeks. Caleb's lip split open. Nott was screaming over the thundering of the pony's hooves. Another shot rang out and Caleb turned his head to find Vax riding alongside, firing his pistol in the air while he whooped and hollered like a maniac. Vex was on the other side, next to Nott, letting out what Caleb guessed was some Native war cry.

 _Please let this be over soon,_ Caleb prayed, hoping that the siblings would eventually get bored.

The raven flapped up to Vax and said something that Caleb couldn't hear. Apparently neither could Vax, as he held out his arm and tilted his head. The raven landed on his arm and practically shrieked, "CANYON!"

Vax looked confused, but then he looked ahead and his cheeks went pale. Caleb followed his gaze and between the pony's galloping legs he could just see the edge of a drop-off. He started to panic, wriggling his wrists in the strongly-tied rope, willing for something to come loose. But nothing did. Nott screamed even louder, crying now, and the siblings shouted over all of it.

Suddenly, a gunshot sang into the night and a tuft of dirt and sand exploded in front of Caleb's face. He flinched and looked accusingly at Vax. The Indian was lining up a shot, one eye shut and his tongue hanging out in concentration.

 _He's trying to shoot the rope,_ Caleb realized, though the thought didn't give him much comfort. Vax could just as easily hit him or Nott or the pony. He wriggled at the bonds with renewed vigor. The edge was getting closer and the pony wasn't slowing down. Caleb was half-tempted to tell him to shoot it, but if there was a chance of them getting out of this alive, he didn't want to be stranded without transport. He grit his teeth in frustration; what to do?!

Another shot from Vax and the rope tying Nott snapped, leaving her in the dust. Caleb felt a small twinge of relief quickly flooded over by fear as he saw how close he was to the edge. He closed his eyes, trying to prepare himself for death. He tried to give himself positive images, calm his nerves with the knowledge that soon he'll be in paradise. He'll have no more suffering or pain. However, those thoughts of serenity were overwritten by one loud, repeating sentence: _I'm going to die here. This is the end. And I have no idea what to really expect._

Just as Caleb thought the horse would go over the edge, it made a sharp left, running alongside the canyon. At the same time, he heard Vax's gun go off once more and the rope attaching him to the horse broke. This would've been fine if Caleb hadn't had so much momentum. He skidded across the ground and then felt no ground at all. He was in open air, plummeting towards a death that would probably have him go _splat._

For the second time that evening, Caleb felt like his arms would pop out of their sockets as he came to a sudden stop. He looked up and saw Vax gripping onto the end of the rope with both hands. His face was red and veins popped in his forehead as he struggled to hold on.

"Climb!" he grunted. "Can't... hold... forever!"

Caleb kicked his feet against the canyon's face, trying to find a foothold among the rocks. Vax let out a strained cry and Caleb felt himself slip down more. He finally found a place where his foot caught and pushed himself up. It was agonizing; with every step Caleb took his muscles complained and his joints screamed. It seemed to take ages to get to the top, but eventually, finally, he scrambled onto solid ground, panting heavily. Vax was recovering a few feet away from him, the end of the rope still in his hands. They stayed there for awhile, catching their breath, staring at each other. Caleb wasn't sure what to say. Did he say thank you for saving his life or spite him for putting him in a position where his life needed to be saved? It hadn't been Vax's fault the canyon was there, but it had been his fault that Caleb and Nott were tied up. He decided to just hold out his hands. Vax wordlessly drew his hunting knife and cut the bonds.

"Caleb, right?" asked Vax. Caleb nodded.

"Vax?" he asked. Vax tipped his hat. He sheepishly sheathed the knife.

"Buy you guys a drink?" he asked.

* * *

Nott glared at Vex as she came back with four golden brown beers.

"We said we were sorry, okay?" she complained, though she didn't meet Nott's piercing gaze.

"Sorry," Kiri cawed from Vax's shoulder. "Sorry."

Caleb took a sip of his drink. It wasn't bad. "The beer makes up for it," he said to Nott. Nott eyed him and took a swig from her own mug. Her brow softened by the tiniest bit.

"Where're y'all headin anyway?" asked Vax, taking a drink then holding up the mug for Kiri to nip at it. "We're just wanderers, so we go wherever. But where's your path lead you guys?"

"We are..." Caleb looked to Nott, silently asking if it was ok. Nott just shrugged, aggressively indifferent, taking another great gulp. "We are trying to find her parents. We thought we might find clues to where they were here, but it turned out to be a dead end."

The twins nodded, looking sympathetic. Caleb wondered if, being half Native, they could relate to the struggle of lost family.

"Any idea where they were last?" Vex asked. Caleb shrugged.

"We tracked them to the Clearbarker estate just outside of town, but there was a slave rebellion. The entire estate was burned to ashes, along with any paperwork that may have pointed us in the right direction."

"How do you know they didn't escape?" Vax asked, feeding Kiri a small piece of dried meat.

"Our contact said that they were no longer there, but they could find out where they were. Like I said, however, they were unable to retrieve the sale documents before the rebellion."

Vex took a long swig. "So, what will you do now?"

"Scout the slave auctions, perhaps. Look along the roads for drivers carrying slaves who might know them. It's always possible."

"We'll find them!" declared Nott, who had drained her glass and was now working on Caleb's, which was still mostly full. "We don't need your help!"

"We weren't offering, relax," Vax reassured her.

"Relax," repeated Kiri.

"What about you?" Nott asked, swaying a bit in her seat. Vex cocked a questioning eyebrow.

"What about us?" She sounded aloof, but she was eying Nott with what Caleb thought might've been concern.

"Y'all're all the way outhere!" Nott slurred. "Why? What'reya doin?"

"Just trying to find work," replied Vax, pulling his glass closer to him. _Away_ from Nott.

"Uh huh," Nott muttered, giving the twins a suspicious stink-eye. "Like yer not gonna shootus as soonas we're on theroad." She leaned across the table and it gave out underneath her, sending her crashing to the floor along with their glasses. The other customers swore around them and Caleb heard some whispers about letting a Negro into the bar.

"Sorry," Caleb muttered, going to scoop Nott off the floor. Her hair was wet with spilled bear and a small piece of glass had pierced her cheek.

"Don't worry, Caleb," she slurred sleepily. "I've got this... won't lettum get us."

Caleb carried Nott out of the bar, the twins close behind.

"Sorry about the mess, darlin," he heard Vex say. He heard the sound of clinking coins and felt a guilty knot in his stomach. They'd payed for their drinks out of apology. Now they were paying for their messes because Caleb didn't have a copper to his name.

He walked Nott over to the horses tied up outside. Trinket and Frumpkin were curled up against each other, Frumpkin purring snuggly and Trinket's tail wagging. The two animals perked up as their owners came up to them. Trinket jumped up and stood on his hind legs to give Vex's face slobbery kisses. Frumpkin stretched and licked himself, as if to prove he was too dignified for such behavior. But as Caleb laid a sleeping Nott stomach down on her pony, Frumpkin rubbed up against Caleb's legs. A warm feeling went through him, then; there was something about that cat that always put him at ease.

"Hey." Caleb turned around and found Vax stretching out his hand. "We square?"

Caleb eyed the hand, resentment still sticking in his heart. _What good has holding a grudge ever done you?_ he thought and clasped the hand.

"Ja, we're even."

"Even," Kiri chimed, happily. "Even!"

"Take care of that kid," Vax called from atop her horse. Caleb nodded at her and swung up into his own saddle.

"Gute nacht," he said. The twins turned their horses around and kicked at their sides, taking off in a gallop. Caleb watched them go, their hooves kicking up dust.

"They weren't so bad, I guess," said Nott. Caleb turned to see her fanning herself with a wad of paper money.

"I thought you were passed out." Caleb cocked an eyebrow as urged his horse forward. Nott followed beside him, slipping the money into a side pocket.

"It's gonna take a lot more than a few beers to knock me out, Caleb," she said dismissively, hiccuping.

Caleb rolled his eyes and watched the horizon. The first shades of red and purple were just peaking over the rolling hills.


End file.
